


No Brilliance Here to Hide Away

by fairytaleslayer



Series: Beau-Centric One Shots [8]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Beau also doesn't think she's a genius, Beau is a genius, F/F, What else is new, and the rest of the M9 start to figure it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24092866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytaleslayer/pseuds/fairytaleslayer
Summary: Beau has been playing her cards close to the chest for a long time. As she gets closer to the Nein, she inadvertently starts showing pieces of herself to them. Genius has a way of coming out, even if you try to hide it.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha
Series: Beau-Centric One Shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1312556
Comments: 20
Kudos: 382





	No Brilliance Here to Hide Away

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a post about how Beau if likely the smartest and most versatile character ever played in CR, despite not having the highest Intelligence stat.

“Caleb, you gotta hurry it up man,” Jester urged as she and Yasha looked around for any intruders. 

Caleb’s eyes didn’t move from where they were gazing intently at a set of engravings hanging on the wall, murmuring the ritual to himself that would allow him to translate for the group. He’d finished three before the spell had run out, but needed the fourth. The temple they had broken into for the information would not remain empty for long. “No matter how many times you ask, I cannot go any faster, Jester,” he reminded her. 

Beau was standing next to him, brows furrowed as she looked back and forth between the tablets and what Caleb had already written. “- single hour - starlight - the dead are free,” she muttered, seemingly to herself. Caleb turned to stare, having just completed the spell. “What?” she asked defensively before lowering her voice. “It’s using some of the same words you said before okay? It’s just a puzzle - I extrapolated it out. See - ‘here for a single hour in the starlight, we will be happy again for the dead are free’.” 

Caleb quickly read the tablet, confirming what Beau had translated on her own. “I see.” He had a million questions he wanted to ask all of a sudden, and no idea where to start.

“What do you say we keep out of Caleb’s way, huh Beau?” Fjord interrupted the staring contest, completely oblivious to the reason for it. “Not make this take any longer than it already is.”

“I wasn’t -” Beau started to protest before she deflated. “Yeah, man. Sorry.” She ducked away to go keep watch with Yasha. 

Caleb almost forgot to complete the translation.

After all, Beau had already given it to him.

* * *

Caleb’s studying in his small library was disturbed by a quiet knock. “Got your message,” Beau said, eyes firmly fixed on the floor. She’d been quiet since leaving the temple that afternoon, quickly disappearing up into the tree on top of the Xhorhaus when Caleb had brought them home. No one had seen her since. “What d’you need?”

“Ah, Beau. Yes, yes.” Caleb cleared some room on his table and eagerly gestured for Beau to join him. “You see, I was having trouble with this wording. I - I _believe_ it is a spell of some sort, one that I might be able to make use of, but even when I use my comprehension spell, I cannot seem to make sense of it.”

“If you can’t read it, what makes you think I have a chance?” Beau scoffed, one hand already back on the door for a quick escape. 

“Beau.” The tone of Caleb’s voice stopped Beau in her tracks. “You - I think you know a lot more than you let on. You were right today. Did you know that?” No response. Caleb tried a different tack. “I was not aware you understood ancient Draconic.”

Beau still wasn’t making eye contact, but she huffed. “Picked it up.”

It wasn’t a language one just ‘picked up’, but Caleb set that aside for the moment. “Well. I would certainly appreciate any assistance you can give me with this. I have no other ideas to follow up on.” There had been something...in that temple. Something Caleb had missed. That perhaps all of the Nein had missed about their young friend. 

There was a long moment of hesitation before Beau gave in and sat down beside him. She snatched the scroll away and stared at it - almost a glare. But her shoulders were hunched, like she was expecting to fail and was already angry about it. Caleb let her study it uninterrupted for five minutes before he began to get antsy. He snapped Frumpkin into existence and settled him on his lap to soothe his nerves. “Well it’s not just a language,” Beau finally spoke fifteen minutes later. “It’s a cipher.” She began scrawling out the solution.

“But -” It _still_ didn’t make any sense. “It won’t translate.”

“Probably because there is no script for this language,” Beau said, her voice a bit more animated than before as she got into the nuances of the translation. She grabbed another scroll and began copying out the indecipherable language into Common. “Best I can tell, someone phonetically spelled out Deep Speech, which isn’t written, since most of the creatures that speak it are telepathic. Besides, you know - me.” Beau shrugged. “It’s a spell alright though - fucking gnarly one too. This dude calls it the ‘Circle of Death’. Morbid,” she chuckled. “He even wrote down the materials you’ll need. Helpful guy.”

Caleb scanned the components and description of the spell’s outcome, just a bit sickened. It would be a while before he felt comfortable unleashing this even against enemies. “Indeed,” he agreed absently. “Thank you, Beau. You have saved me days of frustration.”

“Whatever, man.” Beau spun around on the bench to leave, but hesitated. “If you uh, you know. Ever need help again, or just want company in here or whatever - you just have to ask.” She was gone before Caleb could blink, let alone come up with a reply. 

Something they had missed, Caleb mused. He had been aware for a long time that there was more to Beau than met the eye, but the wizard suddenly had to consider that he might have thoroughly misjudged her even so. 

He hoped she came back to his library, or would even go with him to the larger one near the palace. Caleb would have to make an excuse to go there soon. He had a feeling Beau was more willing to visit a library than she let on.

* * *

Jester giggled as she added a little something extra to the carving she was making into the side of the wall she was defacing. Nott was keeping lookout. Beau had left the Xhorhaus with them, but had wandered off along the way, claiming she had errands to run. Jester wasn’t sure if the ‘errand’ included Yasha being back for the first time in two weeks and Beau was just sneaking around, but either way, she hadn’t seen her best friend in over an hour. Her project was nearing completion though, and she wanted Beau to see. 

“You there!” Jester squeaked and nearly dropped her carving tool. “What in Light’s name do you think you’re doing?” 

Thanking the Traveller her hood was up, Jester took off for the opposite corner where Nott was _supposed_ to be standing watch. “We have to go!” 

Their escape and their feet skidded to a halt when the previously open alleyway behind the temple was blocked by two guardsmen. Two more were behind. Jester quickly changed her appearance and hissed at Nott to do the same. They couldn’t afford for the Bright Queen to hear of any delinquencies by the Nein.

“You’re coming with us,” was said gruffly as manacles were slapped on.

* * *

Beau picked up the jar of paint that was miraculously not broken on the ground and inspected Jester’s obviously unfinished work. “Great,” she muttered. Jester and Nott were an hour late to meet up with her, and Beau had a feeling she knew what happened. She briefly considered going to fetch Fjord and just letting him deal with getting the troublesome pair out of prison, but she didn’t really feel like getting a lecture of her own for not keeping a better eye on them.

Better to just handle this herself.

Putting on her most agreeable looking face, Beau made her way to the overnight lockup. “Have you found her yet?” she asked the guard on duty frantically.

“What? Found who?” he asked, startled.

Beau frowned at him. “The little Miss, of course! I reported her missing _hours_ ago! Den Thelyss will not be pleased to hear she hasn’t been found.”

The guard stood a little more to attention at the name drop. “We were - we were not informed of any missing persons from the Den,” he reported. 

“It’s only been a few hours, but the Den will be hearing about this lack of communication between your stations,” Beau lied. “Now. I’m looking for two young women, the Miss and her friend. The Nein have been tasked with locating her.”

“Well, we do have - we brought in two girls tonight for defacing public property,” the guard said hesitantly, already dreading the dressing down he’d be getting if he’d brought in a member of Den Thelyss. 

Beau sighed dramatically and hung her head. “Yes. She’s young - still working on her decorum. The amnensis, y’know? Sometimes it causes a few setbacks before they really settle into their new lives. Hers was a little later than most.” She dug around in her pouch and pulled out a dozen platinum. “If you release her to me, I’ll take her home, and the Den doesn’t need to know what she got up to, nor how you put their protege in a cell. Our little secret, yeah?”

That was the best deal he could think of. “O-of course. Yes. That would be for the best.”

Beau handed over the money and was escorted quickly to the back, where an unfamiliar Tiefling and goblin stared up at her beseechingly. “Yes, that’s them,” she groaned. The guard unlocked the cell and ushered the two miscreants out and to Beau’s custody. “Remember. Our secret,” she warned him, holding up the Bright Queen’s symbol.

The guard nodded enthusiastically, pocketing the coin. “I had a very quiet patrol, ma’am.”

“Excellent.” Beau herded Jester and Nott outside and into the dark streets. 

Jester barely waited until they were out of sight to start grinning from ear to ear and drop her disguise. “That was so cool Beau!” she whisper-shouted. “How you made up that story and got us out and did you see his face? He was _so_ scared he was gonna be in big trouble!”

Beau pulled them into a corner. “Okay, keep your voice down Jessie,” she murmured. “Look. It’s not a big deal I just threw the name Thelyss around - you know they’re the big hotshots in this town. But we got lucky, alright? So when we get home, _none_ of us - especially _you_ No-Veth -” she gave a hard look to the semi drunk halfling, “- are going to mention this to anyone. I for one, do not want a lecture from Fjord about how none of us can ever be left alone without causing trouble.” Jester’s face had drooped, and Beau could never stand her being anything less than thrilled, so she stopped the reprimanding. “Just - for the love of gods don’t tell Fjord,” she decided. “Yasha or Caleb would be fine.”

Perking up, Jester nodded rapidly. “Yeah yeah yeah! Did you see it Beau? It was a _really_ good one.”

“I saw,” Beau chuckled, relaxing. “It was good. Now come on, let’s go home.”

* * *

Beau was attempting to do some meditation in the tree while Caduceus gardened and hummed down below. The rest of the Nein had gone out for the afternoon. Shopping was in order after being away for a week on a mission for the Bright Queen, and they could all do with some relaxation. Beau especially. She’d nearly died at the end of a neothelid’s tentacles before Yasha had stepped in. 

“Hey Caduceus?” Beau called down a few minutes later, giving up on calming her mind. There was an answering hum. “You ever think about how the Wildmother - she’s this grand all healer right? How come she couldn’t help Ioun after the Chained Oblivion injured her so bad during the Calamity and all?”

Quiet, for a bit. “You know what? I don’t know,” Caduceus drawled in that easy way of his. “I could ask her, if you want. It’s been a few days since I communed with her.”

“Nah, no need to bother her over my questions,” Beau brushed him off. “Just wondering.”

“She’s more of a...protector than a healer really. That and the wilderness of course. The Mother’s uh, a uh....she lights the way for those who are lost. Guides their path.”

Beau nodded, thinking about that. “I guess if I wanted a healing Goddess I should have asked more from Sarenrae huh?”

“I’m not familiar with Sarenrae. My experience really only has ever had the Wildmother in my life.”

“Well she’s not exactly one of the major deities.” Beau swung down from the tree branch to land next to Caduceus. The plants were looking pretty good, despite only having the tree’s sun lights dangling around. “She’s pretty private too - not that many followers or clerics like Melora might have outside the Empire. Records say one of Vox Machina followed her, but that’s unconfirmed...and you have no idea who those people are,” Beau realized. “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, she was actually pretty forgotten for a long time after the Calamity, but Vasselheim, a city on another continent, rebuilt a temple for her a couple decades back, so she’s growing in recognition.”

Caduceus nodded along, occasionally picking a couple of leaves and sniffing them before sticking them in his bag. “Huh. For someone who doesn’t really follow the gods, you do know a lot about them Beau.”

Beau hunched and fiddled with one of the plants, careful not to harm its stem. She didn’t want Duceus getting mad at her. “Boarding school remember?” she joked. “The uh - the Soul didn’t really let you leave until you had a pretty good grasp on a lot of things.”

“It was my understanding they didn’t let you leave at all,” Caduceus mused.

“No. You’re right, they didn’t,” Beau admitted. “I ran away - couple weeks before I met Fjord and Jester. But I was there for a few years, and I didn’t ditch _all_ my schooling. And I would sneak out of my room at night a lot, just to see if I could. Disappearing into the library was the best chance at not getting caught until morning - you saw all the shelves there. It’s like a maze. I memorized all the dark corners to hide in. And once you’re there, not much else to do but read while you hide, right?”

Caduceus pondered that for a moment before a slow grin spread across his face. “You’re a lot smarter than anyone knows Beau,” he said, nodding like the matter was decided. “I think that’s great - Caleb always likes to have a partner to read with. I’m pleasant company but uhhh, not much else.”

“Pff, no. I mean, reading’s fine, but I’m not on Caleb’s level. He’s got the whole nerd thing going on.”

“Hmm.” Caduceus just smiled that little one that always made it seem like he was onto something. “I guess we’ll see, huh?”

* * *

“Hey Yash?” Beau knocked on her bedroom door, fidgeting with her sash. What they were doing - it was still new, and the monk didn’t want what she was about to give Yasha to upset any of their balance. 

The door swung open and Yasha waved her in. “Beau. Hi. Did you need something?”

Beau dug around in her bag and came up with a sheaf of papers. She thrust them into Yasha’s hands before immediately backing towards the door. “No I just wanted to give you this. I remembered you said a while ago you didn’t know much about the Stormlord beyond the basics and I know he saved you and he’s pretty fucking important to you.” The words tumbled out in a rush, Beau hardly stopping for breath as she tried to explain and get out as quickly as possible. “Duceus made me think - I know all this useless shit about a bunch of things, the gods being one of them, so I took some notes from what I could remember about Kord and - there. That’s them, so you can read them or not read them it’s fine really okay bye.” She whirled around and was gone.

And Yasha had thought Jester could be hard to keep up with.

* * *

Yasha spent the evening scanning through the papers Beau had shoved at her before running away. Beau hadn’t been seen in the Xhorhaus since, so she was either wandering around town or was hiding at the top of the tree upstairs. Probably the tree. She seemed to gravitate towards that place recently.

The notes were written much neater than the scrawl Yasha had seen from Beau only a few times. They generally left that kind of thing to Caleb or even Jester. Yasha had only caught a glimpse of a couple reports to Dairon Beau had been working on. But these writings were careful, thought out. Beau had given her a brief history of the followings of Kord, who Yasha previously only knew as the Stormlord, how he exhorted bravery and strength, but that strength not used honorably would cause a worshipper's downfall. He was the god of battle, yes, but strength was not to be found only in fighting. Something Yasha had learned already from the Stormlord.

Beau wrote about an order of monks on a far off continent, unaffiliated with the Cobalt Soul, led by a man they called Earthbreaker who - despite his age - was still the Dawn Marshal of the Braving Grounds. Whatever that meant. 

There were pages on pages, everything Beau could find or remember, put in a way that made it easy for Yasha to understand. Finishing up hours later, Yasha ascended the stairs to their roof and stood beneath the tree. “Is she up there, Caduceus?”

“Oh yeah,” he replied with a slow grin. “Couldn’t even get her to come down for the vegetable stew I made for dinner, and she usually likes it. I saved some for her though. With her required bacon.”

“I’ll let her know.” With a nod to Caduceus, she focused back up at the tree that hopefully still housed the girl she’d grown to care for almost against her will. “Beau?” she called softly. “Could you maybe come down?”

A rustle, followed by silence, followed by Beau’s hesitant voice. “Depends. You mad at me?”

“Why would I - be angry with you Beau?”

“‘Cause I overstepped. Or interfered. Whatever you want to call it,” Beau muttered. She couldn’t be too far up the tree then. “It’s _your_ relationship with a deity, not mine. I shouldn’t be trying to make you think one way or the other about him. It was stupid. Always getting in the way, sticking my nose where it shouldn’t be and pissing everyone off. Look - just forget about it, alright?”

Yasha sighed. “Beau. Just come down. Please? I’d really rather not climb a tree in the dark. Not all of us are as - flexible as you.”

Normally that would bring some kind of inappropriate joke spilling out of Beau, but tonight she just huffed and swung down. Yasha could tell she was going for casual, leaning up against the tree like she didn’t have a care in the world, but the way she was rapping her knuckles on her thigh gave Beau away.

“Beau -”

“I said forget it,” Beau interrupted. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to.”

“Everything you wrote down. You knew all of that about the Stormlord?”

Beau shrugged without making eye contact. “Well yeah. From the Soul. But like - it’s nothing, yeah? I’m not like Caleb or anything - remember everything I see forever and all. Just, some stuff sticks. I was curious about Ioun, because that’s who the Soul follows, y’know? So I did some digging on her, and then that just kind of spiralled for a week into reading up everything about all the gods, because I wanted to see if it was possible for any of them to help her, and that got me onto Sarenrae, who got me onto researching this band of people called Vox Machina, which led to Kord at some point,” she babbled. “So I knew a bunch of random stuff.”

“That’s - amazing Beau.”

“What? No. This is Caleb’s schtick not mine. You heard Fjord a few weeks ago - I just get in the way. Should just leave the expert to it. Not like he needs my help or anything.”

Yasha reached out carefully, taking Beau’s hand and drawing her to sit over by Caduceus’ vegetable box. “I think maybe Fjord misunderstood. Clearly, you uh, know much more than just how to punch, yes? More than you’ve been letting on. Why?”

Beau fidgeted with her vestiges until Yasha lay a gentle hand over both of hers, then she latched onto that. Maybe Yasha wasn’t mad at her for interfering. Maybe. “Did it help at all?” She changed the subject.

“It did. I think I understand some of my dreams better now. Thank you. Answer my last question Beau.”

Fuck, she wasn’t getting out of this. “It was - it was easier. To pretend, or just, live up to the expectations people had. It’s not like I actually passed any of my classes at the Soul. I pissed off the instructors constantly because I refused to do any of my work. Everything I learned I did on my own until Dairon came along.” Beau glared at some empty point in space. “My father thought I was stupid and good for nothing - at least until I started keeping the books for him and stealing on the side. Then he was just furious when he found out that I’d outsmarted him and his best businessmen.” She let out a sardonic laugh. “Started when I was twelve and it took him four years to figure it out. First time he ever hit me - when he bailed me out of prison. Not a bad shot either. Gave me a black eye. Usually he went for the more subtle approach. Lock me in my room for a day with no food to soften me up. Too bad he didn’t know I’d figured out how to pick the lock on my window when I was six. Our employees - they always fed me when I turned up.”

“So you pretend still?” Yasha asked, fighting to keep her voice even. The moment they’d entered that house, Yasha had wanted to beat the life out of the man who dared call himself Beau’s father, claiming that everything that had happened to Beau as a child had been her fault for being ‘difficult’. Now she wished she’d killed him.

Beau shrugged. “Easier to get along in this fucking world when no one expects anything from you. You can’t disappoint them if they think you have nothing to offer.”

That was - quite possibly, even more depressing than what Yasha’s outlook on life used to be. “And what about your own expectations? Is pretending to be less than you are what you want to be?”

“I thought best case - I’d have been dead five years ago,” Beau said bluntly. “So no it’s not really less when I didn’t even have ‘expectations’ to get this far. And don’t look at me like that,” she immediately said when she saw the frown marring Yasha’s face. “That’s not me looking for sympathy or anything. It’s just - that’s the way things are. And it’s fine. It’s. _Fine_. Because everything I have right now? Is so beyond what I could have dreamed up back in my dad’s house.”

Yasha reached out to curl an arm around Beau’s shoulders, bringing her in so she could plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t hide anymore,” she murmured. “Be yourself. We’ve all seen it now Beau. Caleb was talking to Veth about how much you’ve been helping him learn about his own magic in a way he’s never thought of before, and Jester came to tell me how you got her and Veth out of a tight spot a couple days ago. You’re brilliant. No more pretending.”

Beau kept messing with her vestiges but she nodded, and Yasha knew that was the best she was going to get out of her for one evening. 

“Good. What’s the most - interesting thing you ever read? Something I’ve never heard of.”

With a grin, Beau dived into a conversation about these little walking brain type creatures she’d researched after their run in with the neothelid that were said to suck the intelligence right out of a person, leaving them nearly a living corpse where they lay. It wasn’t the most savory of topics, but Yasha found she’d do just about anything to keep that smile on Beau’s face. Even listen about walking brains without bodies.


End file.
